After Hours

You are delusional if you believe the Lakers will repeat as NBA champs. Laker fans swear the playoffs will provide some magic tonic for Kobe Bryant and company, but they’ll wind up cussing and fussing in anger as they watch Shaq and LeBron sip the sweet taste of champagne. Back-to-back? It ain’t happening.

The Lakers will smack the Thunder around though, but their prospects after that will become seriously dicey.

Injuries, their ineffectiveness of defending speedy point guards and an unproductive bench are the major reasons they will fail. Add to that the unknown factor of how Andrew Bynum, who is expected to return Sunday after missing the last 13 games of the regular season with an Achilles’ strain, will respond it too much to bear. Last season, the Lakers prevailed without much of a contribution from Bynum, but this time they won’t be as fortunate.

They are too banged up to complete a title run in this grueling stretch. Bryant, who has enough ailments to sideline 3 players, won’t be in championship form, with a barking knee and an index finger on his shooting hand contributing to their downfall.

The bench though will be what really sinks them. It has been horrible for much of the season and that won’t change much during the playoffs. Much of that is due to one of the key reserves from last summer’s run, Shannon Brown, having a torn tendon in his shooting hand, is clearly not the same player right now. He lacks confidence in his outside shot, which seriously limits his overall effectiveness.

Ron Artest? Defensively, he’s been great, but offensively he’s been inconsistent all season. And we can’t imagine him becoming Trevor Ariza anytime soon. We might be wrong about some of what transpires in the West, but we can promise lightening won’t strike twice in a bottle for the Purple and Gold.

Our predictions:

West

Lakers vs. Thunder: Lakers in 5

Mavericks vs. Spurs: Mavericks in 7

Nuggets vs. Jazz: Nuggets in 6

Suns vs. Blazers: Suns in 5

East

Cavs vs. Bulls: Cavs in 4

Magic vs. Bobcats: Magic in 5

Hawks vs. Bucks: Hawks in 5

Celtics vs. Heat: Celtics in 7

West semifinals

Lakers vs. Nuggets: Nuggets in 6

Mavs vs. Suns: Mavs in 6

East semifinals

Cavs vs. Celtics: Cavs in 6

Magic vs. Hawks: Magic in 7

West finals

Nuggets vs. Mavs: Nuggets in 7

East finals

Cavs vs. Magic: Cavs in 7

NBA Finals

Cavs vs. Nuggets: Cavs in 6

Read more of Forrest Lee at Blak4rest.com.

When Bennett Salvatore is calling an NBA game, controversy is only a short distance away. The Thunder found out in a harsh way Tuesday night, when they lost a 140-139 overtime thriller at Utah in the best NBA game of the season. It was the best until the unfortunate end.

Salvatore, Tony Brothers (no stranger to swallowing his whistle either) and Eric Dalen didn't call a foul when Kevin Durant, who finished with 45 points, got hacked by Utah’s C.J. Miles on a possible game-winning jumper at the buzzer.

“A tragic no call!” screamed Thunder play-by-play announcer Brian Davis. Imagine how Durant and Oklahoma City Coach Scottie Brooks felt. Still, not many NBA officials are going to make that call, especially in Utah.

But the NBA, to its credit, saw it differently. Joel Litvin, the NBA’s president of league and basketball operations, issued this short statement today:

“On the final play of last night’s Oklahoma City-Utah game, the officials missed a foul committed by the Jazz’s C.J. Miles on the Thunder’s Kevin Durant during a 3-point shot attempt.”

Too little, too late. The loss bumped Utah into the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference race and dropped Oklahoma City into a tie with the Spurs at No. 6. And the Thunder play tonight in Denver, where the going has been anything but friendly. Portland, which is only a game back of the Thunder and Spurs, gets a gimme tonight against the Clippers.

Salvatore has been the source of controversy lately. He was the reason Phil Jackson got fined for his comments following the Lakers' loss to the Spurs on Sunday. Jackson said, “With Bennett, you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

Jackson was ticked because of a late first-half double technical Salvatore called on Ron Artest and Manu Ginobili, who were doing some minor shoving for position, then followed that one by hitting Kobe Bryant with a ‘T’ a short time later for asking about the first one. The NBA nailed Jackson for $35,000. Chump change for him, but the league didn’t want to hear his whining again.

So imagine Jackson’s reaction today upon hearing that the NBA admitted Salvatore, Brothers and Dalen blew the call in Utah. Unfortunately, we won’t hear his thoughts because that would result in another fine.

Salvatore's 25 years in the NBA has history. The 60-year-old official has a reputation for being one of the worst in the game.

Maverick fans know him well. Salvatore is the official who made the critical phantom foul call on the Mavericks, allowing Miami's Dwayne Wade to win Game 5 on the 2006 NBA Finals. It practically cost the Mavericks the title.

Still, this might benefit the Thunder in the long run. Drawing Utah in the first round of the playoffs might turn into a blessing since they’ve beaten the Jazz in 3 of their 4 meetings. Last night’s loss might be their gain. That is unless Salvatore (or Brothers) shows up and ruins it again.

Read more of Forrest Lee at Blak4rest.com.

He’s nicknamed the Baby Face Assassin. With his boyish features and his deadly shooting, the moniker fits his game.

“Steph Curry is going to be a sensational point guard,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said recently. “We love him.”

Nelson and Warrior fans are having a love fest with the 22-year-old rookie point guard, who has risen to the top of the 2009 draft class. While much praise has been heaped on rookie point guards Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings and occasionally Ty Lawson, Curry has become the flavor of many fans.

Evans remains the top choice for Rookie of the Year honors, but Curry is giving him a run for the money. He is averaging 16.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. He ranks sixth in steals at 1.8 per game and is tops among rookies for turnovers-assists ratio. He also leads rookies in three-point shooting at 42.4 percent.

Compare those numbers to the ones he compiled in November, when he was averaging just 9.8 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds and was clearly overwhelmed by the NBA game. He also had to deal with petty jealousies by teammates Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson, who has since been traded to the Bobcats.

But Curry ignored those distractions, becoming the Warriors’ major attraction despite their poor play this season.

Against the Lakers last night, Curry shook Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown like bad habits for much of the contest. He scored 29 points, recorded 9 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds in the Warriors’ 124-121 loss. Curry and Ellis both missed three-point jumpers at the end that could have forced overtime. But they rallied the Warriors from an 11-point deficit late to give the Lakers a scare.

On Saturday against the Raptors, Curry delivered 35 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in a 124-112 victory by the Warriors. That performance was just short of his best of the season last month, when he took Baron Davis, who clearly has seen his best days as a player, and the Clippers to school for 36 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in a 30-point Warrior blowout.

If there is any shortcoming about Curry’s game, it’s his defense. But he’s learning. It’s a transition most rookies go through. He’ll also need to add a few pounds to his 6-3, 185-pound frame if he expects to defend against the bigger point guards in the league like All-Star Chauncey Billups.

Curry also has to endure playing for a horrible and inexperienced club. The Warriors are 18-48, the third-worst record in the league and the franchise is a model for chaos. Though Nelson is closing in on Lenny Wilkens’ all-time mark for wins, it’s a good bet he’s on his way out as Warriors’ coach.

But whoever takes the reins should continue to take pages from Nelson’s playbook. Curry thrives in an up-tempo attack. It’s why the Knicks and Mike D’Antoni desperately wanted to draft Curry as their top pick last summer before Nellie pulled a fast one and snatched the former Davidson star with the No. 7 pick, just ahead of the Knicks at No. 8.

The Warriors can build around Curry and Ellis. If management gets a clue, and it's a stretch that it will, it can generate a decent club that Bay Area fans can embrace. With Curry at the center of it, the Warriors have the right mix for a tasty future.

Read more of Forrest Lee at Blak4rest.com.

For all of their talk about being more physical with the Nuggets, the Lakers got pushed around again in the first half. Turnovers, bad shooting and foul trouble to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum didn't help either. These two are always expected to give the Lakers an advantage inside against the smaller Nuggets, but they sat with long faces from the bench.

The Nuggets, who like to talk a good game too, were running the same game they had in their two previous lopsided victories over the Lakers. Oh, was it working well too. They led almost the entire first half, built double-digit leads and controlled the tempo. Maybe George Karl was right, I started thinking. Maybe Denver did indeed have L.A.’s number.

But the Lakers turned up the pressure in the third quarter, forcing Denver into seven turnovers and some cold shooting. You could tell the Nuggets’ bravado wasn’t as bold, looking as wide-eyed as a 6-year-old on the first day of school instead of their confident strut in the first half. A nine-point Nuggets' halftime lead quickly evaporated, and by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Denver seemed to be running out of steam.

"They slowed our offense down," Karl to the Associated Press. "They picked up the pressure on us in the second half and we didn't have the perseverance to pass the ball or penetrate before the pressure came."

But they made a game of it before falling, the end coming when Carmelo Anthony got whistled for an offensive foul, his sixth, a questionable one at a critical time and one that wasn't called all day.

Still, the Nuggets have to be pleased about a few things. One, they forced Kobe into his roughest day of the season. He managed just 14 points on 3 of 17 shooting (he was 1 of 10 at one point), but he dished out 12 assists when he figured out he couldn’t hit the side of a barn.

Thankfully, for him and the Lakers, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Gasol picked up the slack. Artest had 17 points, but more importantly, made 6 steals and harassed Anthony into a 7 of 19 shooting outing and 8 turnovers before he fouled out with 21 points. Odom finished with 20 points, 9 in the fourth quarter, 12 rebounds and 4 steals. He and Artest also set the tone on the physicality issue when it counted most.

Still, the Nuggets have won 2 of 3 from the defending champs. And they'll be amped to make it 3 of 4 when the two teams meet again April 8 in Denver. Who knows, that might set the tone for the playoffs because these two are surely headed for a classic Western Conference shootout.

Read more of Forrest Lee at Blak4rest.com.

They don't generate the same wattage as the Lakers or the Nuggets, but the Oklahoma City Thunder is making as much noise as any club in the Western Conference.

The hottest team (along with the Suns) in the NBA and winners of their last nine before the Suns burst their bubble tonight, the Thunder continues to be one of the league’s biggest surprises. They are a half-game back of the Suns for the No. 5 spot in the hierarchy of Western Conference playoff contenders and just two games back of the fourth-place Mavericks.

Before their went on a nine-game winning streak, the Thunder weren’t even within sniffing distance of a playoff berth. They were 11th in the competitive West. Though some experts believed they were capable of making a run for the playoffs, the Thunder’s inconsistent play initially prevented their rise. But now Oklahoma City is performing as well as any NBA team though it isn’t taking its recent success for granted.

“It’s satisfying that we’re improving. But we have a long way to go,” Thunder Coach Scott Brooks told the Daily Oklahoman this week.

True. But this season’s club is a much better one than last year’s, which lost 59 games. Several reasons point to the Thunder’s dramatic improvement. One is their ability to capture more close contests. Second, despite being one of the league’s youngest ball clubs, it’s a talented bunch that keeps getting better. Of course their best weapon is one of the NBA’s leading MVP candidates, All-Star guard Kevin Durant.

Durant, the No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft, is playing on the same high level as LeBron and Kobe. He is the only active player to record 29 straight games with at least 25 points or more. Not even LeBron or Kobe can stake such a claim. You’d have to go back to 1988, when Michael Jordan ruled and was on a similar scoring binge.

For the season (entering the contest against Phoenix), Durant is averaging 29.8 points per game (second behind LeBron’s 30) and 7.5 rebounds. He is shooting almost 48 percent from the field and 88 percent from the free throw line. And when it comes to delivering a victory in tight games, Durant frequently delivers. None of this surprises Brooks.

“KD is as consistent as a worker as we have on our team,” Brooks told the Oklahoman. “It’s based on his consistency, his preparation, his approach to the game. He prepares himself every day to be a better player. It doesn’t surprise me that he has success.” But for all of Durant’s success, defense has been another significant factor for the Thunder. Oklahoma City ranks third overall in defense and second in the Western Conference behind the Lakers.

Another reason for their success is the development of point guard Russell Westbrook, who is averaging 16 points and 7.7 assists and had a triple-double in a road victory last Saturday over the Knicks. Jeff Green and rookie James Harden have also played well. And Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha and the high-flying Serge Ibaka have been key contributors in clutch moments.

If there is one weakness of this club, it’s the lack of a quality big man, which could spell trouble down the stretch. But the Thunder aren’t worrying about that now.

They continue to chase their lofty expectations, which will be tested by their tough schedule and their youth. Though 15 of the Thunder’s 27 remaining games are at home (including a March 26 contest against the Lakers, who have beaten them in all three meetings), they’ve got some rough road spots to navigate. They visit the Spurs, who they’ve split two earlier meetings, on Wednesday. They also have upcoming trips to Denver, Charlotte, Toronto, Boston, Dallas, Utah and Portland.

Still, barring injuries, I can’t see them not making the playoffs. Whether its the No. 8 spot or higher, their fans, who are quickly becoming some of the bests in the NBA, will be ecstatic.

Read more of Forrest Lee at Blak4rest.com.

Laker broadcaster Joel Meyers couldn’t restrain himself. “The greatest player in franchise history ...”

Greatest player in Laker history? I don’t think so. There is no disputing Kobe Bryant is one of the Lakers’ best and one of the NBA’s finest players. But the greatest Laker he’s not. Much of the effusive praise and non-stop babbling about Bryant, who broke Jerry West’s Laker scoring record in a loss Monday night to the much-improved Memphis Grizzlies, has become nauseous. It’s a significant milestone, but it surely doesn’t vault him to the top of Laker legends. Coincidently, Bryant finished with 44 points (West’s number), but that wasn’t enough for the Lakers to avoid a trap-game loss to Memphis a day after they beat an ailing and aging Celtics’ team on Sunday. Still, Bryant has been all the rage in L.A.

The numbers paint a different picture. If you compare the stats of Bryant and West, you’ll note that it took Bryant 65 more games to top West’s mark of 25,192 points. Add into that equation that West played without the benefit of the three-point shot, which significantly boosts Bryant’s totals by 3,807 points.

Magic Johnson doesn’t come close to either as a scorer, but his overall game trumps both. His five NBA championships, the total of West and Bryant combined, speak volumes too, particularly when you factor in Johnson’s career was practically history when he revealed he was HIV-positive in 1991. But Johnson, who annually led the league in assists and is among the all-time leaders, dominated with his passing skills. It helped him dish and elevate the games of Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy and even more when he created for Byron Scott.

But even Magic wasn’t as dominating as the two best to don a Laker uniform. Wilt Chamberlain was the NBA’s greatest player (Bill Russell was second in our book for all of you Michael Jordan fans scoring at home), but it’s difficult to put him on top as the greatest Laker because Chamberlain played only five seasons in L.A. Still, the Lakers were a magical team during his era, their record 33-game winning streak being just one example. If not for Chamberlain, West wouldn’t have earned his lone NBA ring in 1972.

And consider this: Both West and Chamberlain (which only enhances his stature) led the league in assists. Kobe will never accomplish that. It’s not in his DNA.

But if there were any player to wear the crown of the greatest Laker, Abdul-Jabbar is the one. No player (Chamberlain being the exception), particularly any Lakers past or present, dominated offensively like the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He also has six NBA championship rings, more than any Laker. Bryant has his sights on Kareem’s record of 38,387 points. Good luck with that dude.

Read more of Forrest Lee at Blak4rest.com.